Diary Entry - 28th December, 1915

A busy day in Cambrin, as the Bosch must have put as many as 200 shells along the La Bassée road, the majority of them being 5.9s and 4.2s and just an odd pipsqueak in the evening. At eleven thirty, Hoyland and I set out for the wagon line and, as we left, we heard some heavies dropping near Harley Street, and we went on to Beuvry by the backwater from the La Bassée canal. It was quite nice going along the canal bank and a good change after the cobbles. We found the horses watering at the trough, which is right on the railway beside the backwater, and Griffith was down there superintending. After following the horses back to stables, we stayed to see them feed and then went up to Griffith's billet. We were yarning there when Reeves came up and joined us and, after a drink, we all set off for Cambrin, it being one o'clock. When we got to the end of the straight two miles, we came across a wounded horse, and Reeves seemed to sense danger and said, "I'm sure they have been giving us a doing." A little further on, the road seemed very empty and everyone was standing outside their houses gazing towards Brigade offices. We enquired what was doing and were told our adjutant, Rodd, was wounded and an orderly officer, Murdoch, but they were only slight wounds. On turning down the Tourbieres loop, we saw that the Mess had had a narrow escape: the houses on its left showed the marks of the splinters and were minus a lot of tiles. We met Suttie, smiling as usual, and he told us one of our attached men was wounded and a sergeant at the brigade - as well as a motorcyclist, who was badly hit in the back. On entering the Mess, we found it in a state of chaos. The soot had fallen down the chimney and choked it up, and the rooms were full of smoke. There were about six of our precious glass windows gone too. On inspecting the shell holes, I found that there were two just short, one 10 yards short and the other 20. Another one went over and landed in some soft ground, making a hole five feet deep by 12 to 15 in diameter. Later in the afternoon, I got a shovel and, with the assistance of Bombardier Taylor, dug about three feet down and got the ring and then got Taylor to go a few more inches and got the fuse. It is a splendid specimen, if I can only keep it. These holes in front of the mess are in stiff clay and are four feet deep by 12 in diameter. At about three thirty, they dropped a few more woollies (4.2), just to the rear of the 41st Brigade but, after one or two rounds, they shortened up and burst them over the crest. At four fifteen, they put over about five 8 inch behind the slag heap and made a tremendous noise. I am glad to say none came over in the night. This shelling is all put down to the new 6 inch naval gun, which was brought up to shoot at the Bosch sausages [?]. It fired its first shells yesterday, and I should think you could see it for miles, as it makes such huge amounts of smoke. It is the gun they wanted to put in our archway.